WeWork leases 86,000 SF in Jones at Main Building in Downtown

HOUSTON – WeWork, a co-working office space company, will open its first Houston location in The Jones at Main, a historic redevelopment in downtown Houston. WeWork leased 86,000 SF in the building.

The office sharing WeWork concept is appealing to start-up firms, entrepreneurs and even Fortune 500 companies that need to have a regular presence in major cities.

The Jones at Main is being redeveloped by Houston-based Midway and Lionstone Investments. Colvill Office Properties is handling leasing at the property, which, with the addition of WeWork, a trendsetter in the move to shared, open office spaces that appeal to Millennials.

As customary, a ping-pong table will be available in the new WeWork space.

Plans for the iconic 708 and 712 Main buildings include, creating a collaborative and socially engaging environment via ground-level connection of the two buildings, the addition of hospitality-inspired amenities, as well as new street-level restaurant and retail spaces.

“Downtown’s office market features a variety of options to suit different corporate cultures and is constantly evolving with demographic and workforce trends,” said Bob Eury, president of the Central Houston organization. “WeWork has been instrumental in changing the way people work as we’re seeing not just startups, but industry-leading companies beginning to challenge the idea of traditional workspace.”

“The fact that WeWork chose The Jones at Main for their first Houston location speaks volumes about our re-positioning of this iconic Houston building,” said Fernando Urrutia, vice president of Lionstone.

WeWork will open a location in the historic Jones on Main office project.

Built in 1908 and expanded in 1922, 708 Main has held a presence on Main Street in downtown for more than a century. Also known as The Great Jones Building, the office tower was originally home to the Texas Company (later Texaco), and then became the Bankers Mortgage Building.

Former Houston Chronicle publisher Jesse H. Jones kept an office in the building as work progressed on the adjacent Gulf Building.

The 712 Main office tower, is a 37-story Art Deco skyscraper houses the current Houston banking headquarters for JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The building was commissioned in 1929 by Jesse Jones and it remained the tallest building in Houston until 1963. The tower is a City of Houston Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.